It was 2011 and I was in Cape Town in South Africa. I had decided to go deep sea diving and shark watching where you go underwater in a cage with sharks all around. Even though I was a bit afraid of sharks, I decided to do it.
The day finally came when I was all ready in scuba diving gear and was about to go in the cage along with an instructor. I noticed that the lock was a bit loose.
“Ummmm ummm umm um uummmm!” I said the mouthpiece still in.
“What?” he asked.
“The lock is a little loose.” I said while pointing towards the lock.
“Oh don’t you worry sir, its tight enough.” He assured me.
I thought that he was right as he was a professional and must know what he was talking about. We went in the cage and started to go underwater. At first we saw the scenic corals and the picturesque blue water.
Soon we went further down and the water became darker and frightening. After another 50 meters or so, we stopped and the instructor threw a chunk of meat outside the cage.
Suddenly, out of nowhere a group of sharks came out of the dark waters and ate the meat.
The fish were humongous and must have been about the size of a school bus. They were dark grey in colour with razor sharp teeth that could tear a human into pieces within seconds.
The sharks were still hovering around the cage and clearly wanted more. However, there was overly greedy shark who so close to the cage that I could feel its sharp odour.
The instructor threw another chunk out which grazed the lock a bit.
The overly greedy shark hit the lock with its teeth and instantly it gave away. A cold shiver went through my spine. I panicked and for the first time in my life realised how deadly a shark could be.
I tried to keep calm and think how to save myself but when you are with hungry sharks, you don’t give a damn about calm.
I knew I was not a good swimmer and couldn’t out swim them. The instructor panicked and tried to swim out of the cage but the sharks were no fools and instantly tore him into pieces. The water turned red with blood. I realised that I was soaked in cold sweat.
One shark tried to get in but was too big and got stuck mid-way. My only escape route was blocked and I had to think of other ways. I took the instructor’s oxygen cylinder and bashed it as hard as I could on the shark’s head. The shark cried with agony and got out of the cage.
I quickly closed the cage door but I was no match for them. This time the door opened towards the outside and I was halfway out of the cage.
As I was trying to get back inside the cage, one of the sharks bit my right arm off.
A sharp pain shot through me and it felt like being shot 100 times. Blood spurted all around and I could see the sharks fighting for my flesh.
I started to black out and crashed into the cage’s bar. I struggled to get in with whatever energy was left in me. I slowly got in but was still feeling drowsy.
I crashed into the bars again and slowly sank to the bottom of the cage and blacked out with the sharks still hovering outside the cage.
Luckily for me, the instructor on the beach who had lowered us down in the cage felt the tugs on the cage and then saw the red water. He immediately pulled the cage up.
When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a hospital bed with bandages around my left arm. The doctor gave me a newspaper and I saw that I was on the cover page. I felt proud of myself for facing my fear and that too so courageously.
https://creativehappinessjournal.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/sharks/
The day finally came when I was all ready in scuba diving gear and was about to go in the cage along with an instructor. I noticed that the lock was a bit loose.
“Ummmm ummm umm um uummmm!” I said the mouthpiece still in.
“What?” he asked.
“The lock is a little loose.” I said while pointing towards the lock.
“Oh don’t you worry sir, its tight enough.” He assured me.
I thought that he was right as he was a professional and must know what he was talking about. We went in the cage and started to go underwater. At first we saw the scenic corals and the picturesque blue water.
Soon we went further down and the water became darker and frightening. After another 50 meters or so, we stopped and the instructor threw a chunk of meat outside the cage.
Suddenly, out of nowhere a group of sharks came out of the dark waters and ate the meat.
The fish were humongous and must have been about the size of a school bus. They were dark grey in colour with razor sharp teeth that could tear a human into pieces within seconds.
The sharks were still hovering around the cage and clearly wanted more. However, there was overly greedy shark who so close to the cage that I could feel its sharp odour.
The instructor threw another chunk out which grazed the lock a bit.
The overly greedy shark hit the lock with its teeth and instantly it gave away. A cold shiver went through my spine. I panicked and for the first time in my life realised how deadly a shark could be.
I tried to keep calm and think how to save myself but when you are with hungry sharks, you don’t give a damn about calm.
I knew I was not a good swimmer and couldn’t out swim them. The instructor panicked and tried to swim out of the cage but the sharks were no fools and instantly tore him into pieces. The water turned red with blood. I realised that I was soaked in cold sweat.
One shark tried to get in but was too big and got stuck mid-way. My only escape route was blocked and I had to think of other ways. I took the instructor’s oxygen cylinder and bashed it as hard as I could on the shark’s head. The shark cried with agony and got out of the cage.
I quickly closed the cage door but I was no match for them. This time the door opened towards the outside and I was halfway out of the cage.
As I was trying to get back inside the cage, one of the sharks bit my right arm off.
A sharp pain shot through me and it felt like being shot 100 times. Blood spurted all around and I could see the sharks fighting for my flesh.
I started to black out and crashed into the cage’s bar. I struggled to get in with whatever energy was left in me. I slowly got in but was still feeling drowsy.
I crashed into the bars again and slowly sank to the bottom of the cage and blacked out with the sharks still hovering outside the cage.
Luckily for me, the instructor on the beach who had lowered us down in the cage felt the tugs on the cage and then saw the red water. He immediately pulled the cage up.
When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a hospital bed with bandages around my left arm. The doctor gave me a newspaper and I saw that I was on the cover page. I felt proud of myself for facing my fear and that too so courageously.
https://creativehappinessjournal.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/sharks/
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